Withered
by D0omkitty
Summary: Azula's break down. The Past, Present, and Future. Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA


Everything was a mess, ever since the day Tai Lee and Mai left. Of course, Azula tossed them in jail for their betrayal, but it ran deeper than that. It's what Mai said that began her distinct unraveling.

_I love him more than I fear you._

Azula's immediate reaction was to retaliate.

_You should have feared me more!_

She didn't want Mai's fear. She wanted her friendship. Then Tai Lee attacked her. In a matter of minutes, her only friends, her best friends, left her. They left her to her own devices. Instead of crying, Azula did what her father always taught her. She showed no weakness. She released blind hatred in it's place. Allowing the destructive monster to grasp her heart and choke it until it withered away and died.

Azula was a close to perfect as humanly possible. It meant everything to her. Though the fact still remained. No one is ever perfect. Without Tai Lee and Mai, she began to see her flaws. She worked harder and harder, getting absolutely nowhere. The only result was becoming more lost in the darkness than she had previously been.

The single strand of hair out of place after practice was enough to drive Azula over the edge. As she grabbed the scissors, her thoughts were solely on perfection. In the end, she saw just how imperfect she was. For a brief moment, a crazed happiness lit up her face, only to be washed away with a river of disappointment in herself.

She saw her in the mirror. Her mother. The first person who left her. When she left, she didn't just leave Zuko. She left behind her little girl, her little girl who was confused on the boundaries on right or wrong. Her Azula. Ursa was the only person to truly make her see her wrongs. When she left, Azula was blind to her mistakes until it was too late. Seeing the delusion in the mirror made her angrier with her mother and herself. Then Zuko arrived. He was so content with his imperfections. Azula envied this and began to attack.

She wanted to hurt him for his feelings of happiness. Happiness that she's never known except with Mai, Tai Lee or her mother. Zuko had nothing. He was a banished prince. It wasn't fair that he would be okay with nothing while a princess, _the fire lord_, was unhappy with everything at the tips of her fingers. This destroyed her.

Months after she was rotting in prison a single person came to see her. It was Mai. Upon seeing her, Azula's first thought was to harass, to make her as miserable as she was. As soon as Mai stepped into her cell, Azula couldn't do it. She broken down once again. She spoke words that sent the normally detached girl into a flurry of emotion.

_I'm such a horrible person. I'm so sorry Mai... I... I can't do this anymore. Please help me. Please kill me._

Mai couldn't react. She came here to bad mouth the former princess, to kick her while she was down. Now she was feeling the clench of true friendship take hold of her heart. The childhood memories, the reunion, beach parties flashed through her mind. Unsure of herself she immediately wrapped her arms around the restrained girl.

_Where have you been?_

Mai whispered this against her hair. Azula was never the best person, but what she had become wasn't her. She knew from the second Ursa left Azula had changed. Everything since then had been one lie after another. With Azula's tears, Mai saw through to the little girl trapped inside the monster's body. Nothing would change the past few years, but bonds never completely die. No more was said until Mai left. With her parting six words changed Azula's capacity to live.

_Your mother wants to see you..._

Azula was left again in darkness, but it was different now. Her mother was alive. Her mother wanted to see her. Whether it was for good or bad, she was alive. Tears cascaded down her cheeks. This was now normal, but yet this time it was different. For the first time in so long there was hope. Blind happiness.

Azula always thought it was her fault her mother went away. When she was young, she would secretly wish for her mother to disappear. She always thought her mother favored Zuko, another thing she envied about him. She wanted to show her mother she was better the stupid Zuko, starting her obsession with perfection. Days later, another visitor entered her isolated room. Ursa. Immediately she dropped to her knees in front of her broken child.

_My baby... My poor sweet girl._

Tears stained their cheeks. Smiles graced their faces. Ursa kissed away Azula's tears.

_I'm sorry I had to leave my poor baby. _

More kisses on her forehead. Ursa held Azula, who curled into a ball. With her mother there, Azula began to feel the light open back up within her withered heart. Began to see the new life. Ursa spoke once more in a hushed whisper.

_Everything will be okay._


End file.
